Write a comment
Ar Iarraidh is a new four-part documentary series by Midas Productions for TG4 which tells the stories of those missing through the eyes of their family and friends. Tomorrow night Wednesday 8 May, Episode 2 focuses on Columba McVeigh who disappeared in 1975 aged 17.
These deeply personal interviews give us an insight into the heartbreak that each family has suffered and how they continue to live with this ongoing grief on a daily basis, whilst also trying to maintain some kind of hope. Each family has a unique story to tell as to how their lives changed forever, from the moment their loved one disappeared.
Episode 2: Columba McVeigh
On Halloween night 1975, 19-year old Columba McVeigh went out to buy a packet of cigarettes and was never seen again. His siblings have been looking for him ever since.
Columba was born in the quiet and small hamlet of Castlecaulfield but grew up in the nearby Parish of Donaghmore. Despite his happy childhood, Columba grew up in troubled times in Northern Ireland in the 70s. As a vulnerable teenager, it wasn’t long before he was sucked into a conflict that had, up to that point, been far from the McVeigh’s door.
When the British Authorities were unable to draw out any information about republican activity from Columba, it is believed that they convinced him to be used as bait to catch a prominent member of the IRA in the local area. Columba was sent to Crumlin Road Prison and kept in the political wing of the prison where he endured horrific beatings.
Later that year in 1975, Columba decided it was safer to leave Donaghmore, and moved south of the border, to Dublin. Columba disappeared shortly after this. His mother had hoped that he had moved to create a better life for himself. Then in 1998, in a statement read out to Columba’s brother Oliver McVeigh by the IRA, they admitted to abducting and murdering Columba. He was named as one of ‘The Disappeared’, a group of people who were abducted, murdered and buried in secret locations around Ireland.
Just a few families are still trying to recover their loved ones' remains. The latest search for Columba by the Independent Commission for the Location of Victims’ Remains, came to an end in November 2023. There have been six searches since 1999 covering a total of over 26 acres of Bragan Bog.
After almost 50 years, the McVeigh family vow to do all they can to continue to search. This programme follows the on-going search for Columba.
Ar Iarraidh – Columba McVeigh airs on Wednesday 8th May at 9.30pm on TG4 and on the TG4 Player
Anyone with information on any of the four outstanding ICLVR Disappeared cases —Joe Lynskey, Columba McVeigh, Robert Nairac and Seamus Maguire— should contact the ICLVR. All information is treated in the strictest confidence.
The ICLVR can be contacted by telephone: 00800-55585500 International: +353 1 602 8655
E-mail information to: Secretary@iclvr.ie By post to: ICLVR PO Box 10827
CrimeStoppers can be contacted on 0800 555 111 and the untraceable anonymous online form is at www.crimestoppers-uk.org.
